"The Wrights were
clearly the first to achieve sustained and controlled powered flight but the
question of whether or not Pearse beat them off the ground with a powered
takeoff remains."

A farmer, an
inventor, a man of vision.
About March 1903 he became airborne in a high winged monoplane he designed
and built himself. It is almost certain he got into the air under power
before the Wrights. The Wright brothers were the first to achieve sustained
and controlled flight but did Richard
Pearse
beat them off the ground as early as March
1903? Neither party was aware of each others work. Born 3 Dec.1877
at Waitohi Flat, the fourth child of Digory Sargent Pearse and Sarah Anne nee
Brown His parents were married by Rev. Geo. Barclay 16 Jan. 1871, at
Timaru, He was the elder brother of Warne, Ruth and Florence. Digory was b. in Cornwall and had
arrived in Lyttelton via Adelaide in 1865. Purchased in 1865, Trewarlet
Farm, Waitohi Flat. Richard died 29 July 1953 age 75 years & 8
months in Christchurch. Sarah Anne Brown
bc.1850 in Co. Derry, Ireland, and died 11 Aug. 1937 in Landue, Lezant,
Launceston, Cornwall. She married Digory Sargent Pearse on 16 Jan 1871 in
Timaru, New Zealand, son of William Thomas Pearse and Charlotte Mary Sargent.

Children of Digory Sargent Pearse and Sarah Anne Brown
are: i. Thomas Sargent Pearse, b. Abt. 1870, Waitohi
Flat, Temuka, d. date unknown, Unknown.ii. Charlotte Anne Pearse, b. Abt. 1873, Waitohi
Flat, d. date unknown. Married William Smart. Child Gladys Smart.iii. John Brown Pearse, b. Abt. 1875, Waitohi
Flat, d. date unknown.iv. Richard William Pearse, b. 03 Dec 1877,
Waitohi Flat, d. Jul 1953, Sunnyside Hospital, Christchurchv. Margaret May Mary Pearse, b. Abt. 1879,
Waitohi Flat, d. 19 Apr 1950, Christchurchvi. Digory Warne Pearse, b. Abt. 1881, Waitohi
Flat, , d. 1968, NZvii. Florence Sarah Pearse, b. Abt. 1888,
Waitohi Flat, d. Abt. 1976, Aucklandviii. Reginald Pearse, b. Abt. 1891, Waitohi
Flatix. Ruth Beatrice Pearse, b. Abt. 1894, Waitohi
Flat m. Ronald Gilpin.Timaru Herald
Online 08/07/2013 Pearse's Plane
Those interested in a true, properly researched account could do worse than
refer to Errol W Martyn's chapter eight of Volume One of A Passion For Flight, published in
2012.
(a) Pearse stated in 1909 that he did not do anything practical about his
aeroplane until 1904. He repeated as much in 1915, 1928 and 1943 - so no
celebration possible of a 1903 flight attempt by Pearse.
(b) It is a common error to assume drawings in Pearse's 1906-1907 patent
represent a ''plan'', but these, as in most patents of the time, simply
represent a concept, which in Pearse's case changed somewhat over the
ensuing years, leading up to November 1909 when he finally got around to
making his first flight attempt. No original plans, drawings or photographs
of the aeroplane Pearse first built are known to have survived.
(c) The wing fabric on the Mudrovcich machine is attached to the top of the
wing, whereas Pearse attached his fabric to the wing's under-surface. There
was no top covering.

The South Canterbury Microlight Clubs holds the annual Richard Pearse Memorial
fly in at Waitohi in March over a weekend with Saturday designed to highlight the
versatility of the aircraft and Sunday for cross country flying. Suggested reading: The Riddle of Richard Pearse or Moonshine
Country both by
Gordon
Ogilvie. Another website

There is
a plaque at the Timaru airport and the Richard Pearse Memorial with a replica of his monoplane
is in the Upper Waitohi district,
near Pleasant Point on the Main Waitohi Road, overlooking the field were he crashed. Map.
The Timaru Airport was opened 9 April 1932.
Timaru's airport "Richard Pearse Airport" at
Levels is named after this farmer from Waitohi, the first British citizen to fly.
The South Canterbury Aviation Heritage Centre is planned for the airport in
a few years.
Centennial

Richard William Pearse
1877-1953
New Zealand's Pioneer Aviator
This monument commemorates the first
powered flight to be made by a British
citizen in a heavier than air machine.
Most evidence indicates this flight
took place on 31st March 1903 and
ended by crashing on this site.

Pearse wrote two letters to newspapers.Dunedin's Evening Star May 10, 1915
"Pre-eminence will undoubtedly be given to the Wright brothers of America
when the history of the aeroplane is written, as they were the first to actually
make successful flights with a motor-driven aeroplane."

Christchurch Star Sept. 15, 1928
"My aeroplane was of enormous size, having 700 square feet of wing area,
and it was extremely light, being made mainly of bamboo, and weighed, with a man
on board, under 700lb, so each square foot of wing area had to support 1lb. At
the trials it would start to rise off the ground when a speed of 20mph was
attained. This speed was not sufficient to work the rudders, so on account of
its huge size and low speed, it was uncontrollable, and would spin round
broadside on directly it left the ground. So I never flew with my first
experimental plane, but no one else did with their first for that matter. But
with my 60 horse-power motor, which proved very reliable, I had successful
aerial navigation within my grasp, if I had had the patience to design a small
plane that would be manageable. But I decided to give up the struggle, as it was
useless to try to compete with men who had factories at their backs."

Ogilvie, Gordon (1994). The Riddle of Richard Pearse, Revised edition, published by Reed Publishing, Auckland.
First published 1973.

Rodliffe, Geoffrey.
Flight Over Waitohi. The book has been designed to be a semi-technical book for school classes studying the history of flight, and is based on many years of research by Mr Rodliffe into the story of Richard Pearse (1877
- 1953).
Foreword by Dr Darrol Stinton. Sketches and drawings by Philip Heath. Paperback book, size 21 cm x 19 cm. 32 pages. Published 1997.
32 pages illustrated for school use.

1 April 2003 Aviation pioneer waits in the wings. New Zealander took off before Wright brothers
The Wright Brothers get all the credit, but a little known New Zealand farmer and self-taught aviation pioneer deserves
some recognition, too, his supporters say. On March 31, 1903, Richard Pearse flew his bamboo monoplane over the lush pastures of his farm before crashing
unceremoniously onto a hedge, family members and other witnesses said.

It was his first successful flight and came months before Orville Wright took to the air in the Wright Flyer over the North Carolina dunes near Kitty
Hawk on Dec. 17 that year -- a flight that landed Orville and his brother Wilbur in the history books.
The reason was the nature of the Wrights' flight. While several others are thought to have gotten machines off the ground first, the Wrights won
acclaim because theirs was the ''first powered, sustained, and controlled flight by an airplane,'' said Dick Knapinski, spokesman for the Experimental
Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wis.

Pearse himself conceded the honor to the Wrights, agreeing that none of his flights were fully controlled -- most ended in the hedges around his farm
that grew high because he was too busy working on his plane to trim them. A self-taught aviator and inventor, ''Bamboo'' Pearse, who also built a
bicycle out of bamboo, got his plane into the air at least five times before the Wrights did, his supporters say.

The New Zealand division of the Royal Aeronautical Society has nominated him for the First Flight Hall of Fame at Kitty Hawk, but says that with only one
inductee a year, the earliest Pearse may be considered is 2005. ''He should be in there,'' said the society's local vice president, Hugh McCarroll. ''It
will be appropriate recognition of his amazing work.'' Although there is little physical evidence authenticating Pearce's flights,
some of the plane's parts have survived and his devotees insist there is no doubt he took to the air before the Wrights.

At least 20 family members and other residents of the tiny rural settlement of Waitohi, near Timaru, reported witnessing the first flight of the
aircraft, which was powered by an engine Pearce crafted on his forge. A nephew,
Richard Pearse, 83, said his father, Warne, told of being among those present for
that March 31 flight and for other flights. ''My father used to help him, spinning the propeller to start the engine.''
A local photographer reportedly took a picture of the plane stuck atop a hedge, but the photo was lost in a flood years later, said Jack
Melhopt, chairman of the Timaru Aviation Heritage Center. People told of watching Pearse's plane skim over paddocks, and in one case
land in a dry riverbed, the overhead engine frightening a horse.

Amos Martin, a farm worker, recorded a flight on May 2, 1903. ''It taxied 50 yards, rose 10 to 15 feet, flew 50 yards, then crashed into a
hedge,'' he wrote in a letter. ''I got on my bike and hightailed off.'' Treated as a crank by many of his neighbors and even some in his family,
Pearse ended up in a psychiatric hospital, where he died, unsung and alone, on July 29, 1953, at age 75.
''Pearse was very much a recluse. He was laughed at by the locals. They called him `Mad Dick' and `Bamboo Pearse,' '' said the Timaru aviation
center's secretary, Graham McCleary.

A lucky find of rusted parts from one of Pearce's homemade engines and a propeller in an old rubbish heap has given his pioneer work new life. Three
replica engines and two planes based on his earliest designs were built to mark the centennial of his first flight.
Working virtually alone, Pearse designed and built his light-bodied plane with rigid wings, ailerons, flaps, and rudder, all of which were ''movable
from one control column by the pilot,'' said Geoff Rodliffe, a historian who wrote a book about Pearse.
Pearce's nephew said he had a firm objective with the early flights: flying the nine miles to the town of Temuka for shopping.
''But I can see that once he was in the air he had a few problems controlling it, so he didn't make the trip to Temuka and back as he
intended,'' Richard Pearce said.

South Canterbury has secured the extensive archives of Richard
Pearse researcher, Christchurch author Gordon Ogilvie. Central South Island
Tourism has negotiated with Mr Ogilvie for the 23 boxes of material he has
collected since the 1960s. The South Canterbury Museum has a high enough level
of professionalism and quality control that they can be housed here." Mr Brownie
said $12,000 had been agreed on as a fair recompense of Mr Ogilvie's expenses in
gathering the materials in the archives, and applications were being made to
various funding bodies to raise that money. "This price is substantially below
what Mr Ogilvie could have gained elsewhere, so he's made a major financial
sacrifice." Mr Brownie said the archives would be given to the South Canterbury
Museum, and would be fully accessible for research purposes and any further
archives acquired by Mr Ogilvie would be added to the collection. South
Canterbury Museum director Philip Howe said Mr Ogilvie had previously lodged in
the museum some engine cylinder remains and one or two other pieces relating to
Pearse's agricultural experiments, discovered during excavations at Waitohi and
Milton. "This acquisition is incredibly significant from our point of view.
Gordon Ogilvie has completed the most authoritative collection of printed and
written material related to Pearse in the course of research for writing his
book (The Riddle of Richard Pearse). "We're delighted that it's coming back to
South Canterbury and that it will be available to local people for research and
to visiting researchers." Mr Howe said the museum's acquisitions budget of $1500
a year meant it was not in a position to compete with other facilities boasting
larger chequebooks, so he was delighted Central South Island Tourism had led the
charge. Mr Ogilvie said he had wanted the archive to remain in South Canterbury.
"This was always destined to stay in South Canterbury, as long as South
Canterbury was in a position to take it. I think the main issue to me was that
the archives stay in Richard Pearse's own part of the world. "Almost everything
connected with Richard Pearse up to this point has gone up to Auckland, to Motat."
Mr Ogilvie said he was keen to see the South Canterbury Museum become a national
research place for Richard Pearse. Mr Ogilvie said there remained one Richard
Pearse mystery, the location of the rubbish dump around Milton where Pearse's
first plane was taken.

The Daily Mail (London, England) (July 3, 2006): p55.
Born on December 3, 1877, at Waitohi Flat, Temuka, South Island, to Digory
Pearse, an English immigrant from Cornwall, and Sarah Brown, from Ireland,
Richard William Pearse was the fourth of nine children. From an early age, he
developed an interest in mechanics and by the time he'd finished his primary
education his tinkering had blossomed into several inventions. These included a
mechanical needle threader for his mother, a zoetrope that produced moving
images by flicking through a series of stills for his sisters, and a small steam
engine made from a golden syrup tin full of water. For his 21st birthday, his
father gave him a farm at Waitohi, but Richard showed little interest in farming
and used his farmhouse as a workshop, building aircraft and their engines from
parts salvaged from agricultural machinery, supplemented by bamboo and wood. His
first aircraft, a high wing monoplane with a 25ft span, was built over several
years and flight-tested in 1902. Its homebuilt, two- cylinder, 24 horsepower
engine weighed less than 5lb per horsepower. The structurally strong body of the
craft was built from bamboo rods, supported on a tricycle undercarriage
constructed from tubular steel. Cables stretched from posts at the front and
rear to the wing tips, with wire bracing from the undercarriage outboard of the
wheels to the wings. Strong evidence suggests that with this machine Pearse may
have achieved a powered but - crucially - uncontrolled flight of several hundred
metres on March 31, 1902. To attain fully-controlled flight, a pilot would have
to be able to get his plane into the air, fly it on a chosen course and land it
at a predetermined destination. Pearse's short 'hops' or 'flights' established
the fact that he could become airborne but didn't come within this category.
Neither, for that matter, did the first powered flights of the Wright brothers
in December 1903. The Wright brothers, however, had the resources to continue
until they achieved fully controlled flight. Pearse's achievements remained
virtually unknown beyond the few who witnessed them and had no impact on his
contemporary aviation designers. Little recorded information is available
concerning Pearse's early flights and but for the discovery of a strange mock-up
aeroplane and its extraordinary engine at his farmhouse, it's likely that his
achievement would have remained hidden. This aeroplane and some written
material were collected and presented to the Museum of Transport & Technology in
Auckland, where the plane is exhibited.

Pearse link lost
Tracy Miles - South Canterbury Herald 17/08/2011 End of an era: Richard
Pearse's great-nephew, also called Richard Pearse, right, died in Timaru last
month.
South Canterbury lost the last close link to aviator Richard Pearse following
the death of his nephew, also called Richard Pearse, last month. Mr Pearse, who
died aged 92, was 34 years old when his now-famous uncle died and had spent time
with him over the years at the family home at Manse Bridge, Temuka, where the
aviator in later years living in Christchurch would visit for Sunday dinners
to catch up with family. The South Canterbury Herald visited his son Jeffrey,
who, with wife Patricia, lives in the house the aviator and inventor grew up in,
on Pearse Rd at Waitohi and talked about the family's links with the world's
earliest days of flying and the later controversy Richard Pearse's 1903 flight
engendered. According to witness statements, Richard Pearse flew and landed a
powered heavier-than-air machine on March 31, 1903, about nine months before the
Wright brothers flew their aircraft. Since the 1960s there has been controversy
around the Pearse story, with claims that the design of his plane meant he could
not have flown. For the family, being on the inside, statements by what Jeffrey
Pearse calls "experts, in inverted commas" that his great uncle did not fly,
have been hurtful. He said his father was a reserved man and did not talk much
about the aviation achievements of his forebear. "Dad's sister Margaret, she was
less reserved than my father and she always was a strong advocate he flew not
publicly at all, but to us younger generation. I can clearly remember her
saying, `Richard flew.' She was very proud of that. "As I say, my father was far
more conservative and quiet in nature but if push came to shove he would always
say that he did fly as well." Jeffrey Pearse's grandfather, Warne Pearse, was a
key witness to the early flights. Warne, the brother of the aviator, and the
closest of the family to him, was there "from time to time" at Richard's
neighbouring block of land, helping him start his aeroplane invention and get it
airborne, "and so forth". Warne was one of the key witnesses featured in later
research into his brother's flight. It was well documented in newspapers of the
day that he was highly regarded as a most honest sportsman, and tennis player,
his grandson said. "For critics of Richard Pearse to claim that the story was a
load of nonsense and that he could not have flown, really that did question the
credibility of some of the witnesses, for example, Warne Pearse, and that did
hurt my father," he said. Jeffrey said there has never been a statement from the
family that he flew before the Wright Brothers. What mattered to them was the
controversy over whether he had actually flown. "Certainly he was airborne in a
heavier than air machine and was able to achieve short flights." Research by his
biographer Gordon Ogilvie found that after considerable taxiing on his farm
paddocks, Pearse made his first public flight attempt down Main Waitohi Rd
adjacent to his farm. After a short distance aloft, perhaps 50 yards (45 metres),
he crashed on top of his own gorse fence. (NZ History Online). "No details were
recorded, by Pearse or onlookers, of this tentative flight." In two letters,
published in 1915 and 1928, the inventor writes of February or March 1904 as the
time when he set out to solve the problem of aerial navigation.
He also states that he did not achieve proper flight and did not beat the
American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright who flew on December 17, 1903.
"However, a great deal of eyewitness testimony, able to be dated
circumstantially, suggests that March 31, 1903 was the likely date of this first
flight attempt," according to NZ History Online. His attempts at flying were
witnessed not only by Warne, but by local farmers and pupils of Upper Waitohi
School who would see him flying on their way to or from school, Jeffrey said.
The controversy over whether he flew did not arise until the 1960s, after the
aviator's death. Gordon Ogilvie bore the brunt of it as the researcher and
argued the claims on behalf of the family. While the flights or lack of them
were debated it was forgotten there were real people involved, Jeffrey said.
"Twenty-two witnesses from right throughout the country all having some account
of Richard Pearse and his flights all interviewed independently so no
collusion. So it's a fairly weighty lot of evidence. "There were errors in times
and dates and varying degrees of the distance he flew but they were all adamant
he was airborne."
But for the family it was never in question, because of Warne's close
association with his brother, and his upstanding character.
Pearse's plane lacked an aerofoil section on the wing, a necessary element of
flight. The wings worked more like kites, but according to Timaru man Jack
Mehlhopt who helped build a replica of the Pearse's first plane, with the fabric
covering the bamboo structure not stretched tightly, the ballooning affect in
flight would have acted like an aerofoil. "It's all about the angle of attack,"
another local Pearse enthusiast Paul Marshall said. "I don't think there was
ever any commercial purpose. But what was absolutely categoric was his vision
for flight in the early 1900s history has shown 100 years later how absolutely
correct his vision was," Jeffrey said.
Aerilons (the small flap on the outside of the wing), the propeller in front of
the plane, single wings all have been adopted as the norm. "If he'd had a
world patent on aerilons all would have been well," he said. It was not his last
aviation invention. He created an autogyro in his garage in Christchurch which
was designed to be an everyday utility plane, to be driven down the road, and to
take off vertically. This plane was found by aviation pioneer and early Richard
Pearse researcher, George Bolt, who took it back to Auckland. A newspaper
article alerted Pearse's sisters Ruth and Florrie, and they made contact with Mr
Bolt, telling them the history of its inventor, and that he flew before the
Wright Brothers. That sparked off Mr Bolt's interest. "He came down to South
Canterbury [in 1958] on the suggestion of the aunts and started digging around.
When he found pieces of the original plane, he started to interview witnesses,"
Jeffrey said. In later years, his uncle, who never married, would worry, on
visits to the family at Temuka, that others were stealing his ideas. He died in
Sunnyside, in 1953, but Jeffrey said at that time the hospital was also a home
for the elderly. "It wasn't necessarily a loony place but he was no doubt very
eccentric." Jeffrey cannot pinpoint any point in time when he was told about his
famous great uncle the story was just there in the background of family life
that he had been airborne and that he was incredibly clever as an engineer. The
harshest criticism against the flight came from within New Zealand, he said. The
most generous support came from overseas with the aviation publishers Jane's, recognising his contribution to aviation. There has still not been official New
Zealand government recognition of his achievements, although he has appeared on
a coin. "I think it's probably in the too hard basket because there are still
`experts' that will deny his achievements." These experts are aviation people
with high qualifications but who are very distant from the real story, he said.
His father, Richard Pearse, died suddenly in Glenwood Home, Timaru, in early
July, the same home where Warne died in 1967. His passing marked the end of
those with the closest association to the man who may well have been the first
to fly a plane.

Timaru Courier July 1st 2010 pg 7
Pearse's feats not recognised in lifetime
LITTLE interest was taken in Richard Pearse until 1958, five years after he
died.
Only then did recognition come the way of the locally born aviator whose early
flights may possibly have predated the historic flights of Orville and Wilbur
Wright on December 17, 1903. After leaving school, Pearse worked on the family
farm at Waitohi until the age of 21. He probably started his experiments late in
1899, in 1900 or early in 1901. He had no machinery, no one to bounce ideas off,
and no financial backing. First, he designed a monoplane and successfully tested
a model of it. Then he built himself a lathe, a forge and a flimsy shelter to
house the plane while it was being built. The hardest job was to build a motor
light enough to make flight possible. No such motor was available and car
engines were far too heavy, so Pearse had to make his own. He began with a
single cylinder but had to add a second, made from four inch steel irrigation
piping. Other parts, such as pistons and crankshaft, which he could not make,
were made in Timaru. The motor was attached to a tubular steel frame that rested
on a homemade tricycle carriage with air filled tyres. The front wheel was
steerable. Pearse sat on a sort of saddle that he could slide forwards or
backwards to adjust the plane's centre of gravity. He also hoped the movement of
the seat might absorb some of the impact if the plane crashed. The rectangular
wing had a bamboo framework and the whole surface was covered with canvas. The
propeller was wooden, about eight feet long (2.4m) and beautifully finished.
After 18 months work mostly on Sundays and some trial runs on his farm, Pearse took his monoplane out on to the road for its first serious trial. His
younger brother, Warne, the only other person present, dated the event at about
June 1901. Unfortunately, the motor was underpowered and could not lift the
combined weight of man and aircraft off the ground. Pearse then built a more
powerful motor. The result was a two cylinder engine of about 15 horsepower. He
was very proud of this, believing it to be the lightest engine in the world for
its power. He changed the propeller to an iron one, with metal blades cut from
sheep dip drums. The machine was then hauled by horses to the main road and
parked facing Temuka. The road was little more than rough grass and shingle with
gorse hedges on each side. The hedge on the left was about 10 or 12 feet high. A
few spectators helped push the plane after Pearse had spun the propeller. Mine
was the last push, and off she went. There was no silencer, what a breeze! As
he whizzed past me, my hat flew in the air, Warne Pearse later said. The plane
taxied some distance then rose slowly and noisily into the air, at an estimated
speed of 20mph. It then veered to the left after a 100 -150 yards and landed on
top of a high hedge. Pearse was taken to Temuka for medical treatment, in a
slightly dazed condition. Everyone agrees the date of the flight was March 31,
but memories differ over the year. Many say it was 1903, and some are sure it
was 1902. Nearly all those who witnessed the flight are sure it was before any
news of the Wrights flight reached them. Pearse made no claim to being the
first to fly, even saying the Americans, the Wright brothers, were the first to
achieve extended and controlled flight. But who is to definecontrolled?
All Pearse wished to take credit for was being the first to use ailerons, a
pneumatic tyred tricycle under carriage, nose wheel steering, and direct transmission to the propeller. One of his neighbours, John Casey, later made a sworn
declaration to the Geraldine County Council, in 1967, that in about March 1903
Pearse flew twice around the perimeter of his farm before landing again on top
of a hedge. About 30 people witnessed the flight. In 1902, Pearse patented a new
style of bamboo framed bicycle whose pedals moved up and down instead of moving
in a circle, and he equipped this bike with four speed gears. He also invented
two sound recording devices. One was a type of gramophone on which he could
record music and play it back loudly enough to be audible a quarter of a mile
away. His last effort was to build a multi purpose vertical take off craft,
which could act as a plane, helicopter or road vehicle, thinking it might be
useful in anti submarine warfare.
He died in Christchurch in 1953, aged 74 unknown, unrecognised and friendless.
Innovator: A formal studio portrait of a young Richard Pearse in 1902.
Regardless of the uncertainty over the date of his first brief flight and the
debate over what constitutes controlled flight, his ideas about ailerons,
under-carriages and engine design were revolutionary. Sadly, Pearse's
achievements went unrecognised in his lifetime.
PHOTO: SOUTH CANTERBURY MUSEUM P4963

March 12 2004. Jim AndertonWe pride ourselves on an attitude of believing we can tackle anything - "we can do that".
We are far from the rest of the world and comparatively few in number. Although that has its disadvantages some times, it has some special advantages as well.
Lord Rutherford, said,"we in New Zealand don't have much money, so we have to think."
New Zealanders like to try things out. We have had to learn a skill of being resourceful.
We are culturally innovators. We are also incredibly creative.

Douglas Berry
Copland was born on 24 February 1894 at Otaio, between Timaru and
Waimate in the Canterbury Plains of the South Island, New Zealand. He was
the thirteenth of sixteen children born to Alexander and Annie Morton, nee
Loudon, both Scottish-born Presbyterians. Copland. They were pioneer
farmers who grew wheat, raised sheep and bred horses. From 1899 to 1906 he
attended Esk Valley Primary School and spent the next six years at the
Waimate District High School. Upon graduation, Copland tried to enlist
in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and subsequently in the reserve, but
was rejected as medically unfit because of a lesion in the heart valve.
Greatly unsettled, he spent the summer of 1915-16 as a compiler at the
Census and Statistics Office in Wellington before becoming a mathematics
master (1916-17) at Christchurch Boys' High School and a graduate research
assistant in economics (1917) at Canterbury College. In addition, in 1915-17
he lectured in economics for the Workers' Educational Association, both in
Wellington and at Christchurch. By the time he left New Zealand in 1917 he
studied teaching at the Christchurch Teachers' College, and gained Bachelor
of Arts 1915, and Master of Arts degrees at Canterbury College. MA 1916 1st
class Hons. in economics. In addition, he tutored for the Workers'
Educational Association and worked as a Compiler in the Census and
Statistics Office of the Department of Internal Affairs. Copland's love of
teaching and fascination with economics stems from these years - in
particular from his work on his father's wheat farm and the research for his
M.A. thesis, 'The progress and importance of wheat production in New
Zealand'. From 1917 Copland pioneered the development of the economics
profession in Australia. Was professor at the University of Tasmanian from
1920 - 1924 and professor of commerce at the Melbourne University for 15 years.
He began his work as a Government adviser in 1931. He was knighted in 1933. 1946
First vice chancellor of the Australian National University in Canberra. High Commissioner for Australia in Canada (1953
to 1956). Sir Douglas Copland was elected president of the UN Economic and
Social Council March 29 1955. Became principal of the Australian Administrative
Staff College in Melbourne when it was founded in 1956. He retired in 1959 but
continued to write on economic matters.
speech
Died at age 77 from pneumonia, Sept. 27 1971.

He was the organiser of the programme that took Australia
out of the depression.

Mckenzie, born in Ross-Shire Scotland had emigrated to
Australia and drifted like so many others of his class to NZ. He fancied that the difference between the price for sheep on the Rhodes' run and the value of them in the Mataura district of Otago would
afford good remuneration for him. New Zealand's most
famous sheep stealer had a sturdy bullock that carried his sack of oatmeal, his horn of whiskey, and other
stores. Mackenzie County and Pass are named
after him even though it is spelt differently. His faithful collie dog Friday drove approximately one
thousand sheep towards Burkes Pass in 1855 from Levels Station. McKenzie was
apprehended at the Mackenzie Pass by J.H.C. Sidebottom an overseer for the Rhodes
Brothers at Levels Station. Friday lived the rest of his years at Levels Station.
Details of the Mckenzie
story,
Son of the Mist, can be found in O.A. Gillespie's book South Canterbury A
Record of Settlement.

Samuel Butler wrote in 1860 "He is a man of great physical strength, and no
uncommon character; many stories are told about him, and his fame will be lasting. He was taken and escaped more than once, and finally was pardoned by the Governor, on
condition of his leaving New Zealand. His boldness and his skill had won him sympathy
and admiration, so that I believe the pardon was rather a popular act than
otherwise".

MURDOCH, Colin

A man ahead of his time. May 5th, 2008 - New Zealand's Colin Murdoch, inventor of
the disposable syringe, which has potentially saved millions of lives over
the last half century by stopping cross infection, has died. He was 79.
Murdoch died in his home town Timaru after a long battle with cancer, his
family said Monday. As a pharmaceutical and veterinary chemist, he patented
46 inventions including the tranquillizer dart gun for big game animals, the
childproof bottle cap and the silent burglar alarm, as well as the
disposable syringe, the Timaru Herald reported. In 2014 a
tranquiliser gun invented in the 1970s by Colin Murdoch was donated to the
South Canterbury Museum along with two tranquilliser guns made in Timaru by
Pax Arms about 1980.

Represented Timaru from 1869 to 1877 at the General Assembly. Stafford St. the main
street in Timaru was named in his honour. He had arrived in New Zealand on the 'Aurora'
the first emigrant vessel into Port Nicholson, now Wellington, 22 January
1840. Reference: White Wings Vol. II by
Sir Henry Brett
Death: April 18 1857 at Auckland, Emily, wife of Edward W.
STAFFORD, Esq., of Mayne, County Louth, Colonial Secretary of New Zealand,
died aged 29. There were no children of this marriage. On 5 December 1859
Stafford married Mary Bartley at Auckland. They were to have three daughters
and three sons. Mary Stafford died in 1899.

Three times Premier of New Zealand and twice Superintendent
of the Province of Nelson (Nelson's first
Superintendent), was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1820 and reached New
Zealand soon after the Wairau affray of 1843. At 37
he became New Zealand's first and youngest-ever Prime Minister, holding office
from 1856-1861, 1865-1869 and in 1872. In 1846 he married [Emily Charlotte
Sidney Wakefield, niece of E.G. Wakefield] the daughter of Colonel [William] Wakefield and
was thus brought into close contact with the New Zealand Company. His high character and
sterling abilities rendered him the most suitable candidate in the Province for the office
of Superintendent and he was twice chosen for the high position. The institution of
a System of Education, afterwards extensively imitated in the other provinces and the
establishment of Roads Boards, were among his most important achievements. In 1856
he gave up provincial for colonial politics, and accepted the offer of Premier in New
Zealand's first Government. He displayed marked political ability, and great energy in his
conduct of public affairs; and in 1859 he visited England to arrange for the Panama Steam
Service. On his return, in 1861, his Government was defeated, chiefly on account of it's
native policy. Mr Stafford was Premier again from 1865 to 1869 and again in 1872.
Some years afterwards he went to England to spend the evening of his life in retirement in
that country where he died on 1st February 1901, and was buried in Kensal Green, London. A
wreath was sent by the Government of New Zealand, on behalf of the Colony with the
inscription; "New Zealand to her Statesman" Cyclopedia of New Zealand
- Nelson, Marlborough, Westland 1906.Registrar General's Marriage Index
1840Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman by
Edmund Bohan 432pp. Hazard Press.

"His vision of an independent,
democratic and racially tolerant nation set him apart from almost all his
contemporaries."

Timaru Herald Saturday 10th August 1867

"Stafford, spare that tree,
Touch not a single bow;
In youth it shelter'd me.
And I'll protect it now.

Round Hill on Richmond owned by Don Waters. 25 May 1961
the Tekapo Ski Club was officially formed.
History. Bruce Scott, David Allan, Dick
Wardell, Don Prouting, John Dampier Crosley and Brian Waters, then took on
the massive task of discovering potential fields using such criteria as snow
conditions, access, safety from avalanche dangers and, most importantly, run
holder cooperation to make a final decision. Bruce recalls there were four
finalists. Cass basin on Godley Peaks, Tekapo Saddle on Mt Hay, Coal Creek
basin on Lillybank and Round Hill on Richmond. And the best option? Round
Hill.

2009: Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park in the Two Thumb
Range includes 11 tracts of public land, including a large segment of
Mesopotamia Station. It will be host to a number of outdoor activities,
including guided walks, horse-trekking, cross-country skiing and mountain
biking.

Pass To Pub Mountain Bike Ride - A 36Km mountain bike ride
from Burkes Pass (at 545m above sea level) in the Mackenzie Country through
valleys, across streams do to the Albury Tavern (at 238m above sea level).
It is on shingle roads, farm tracks and 100% rideable 4WD trails. A family
ride that provides a challenge for all levels of rider from absolute novice
to elite riders. Early March.

The Timaru Herald | Wednesday, 28 February 2007"With settled weather predicted for the ride we think the number of riders
could be right up there with last year's record of 850".
"It can be used as a starter event for anyone who wants to give mountain
biking a go and many family groups compete." The trail consists of farm
tracks and shingle roads and runs from Burkes Pass to Albury Tavern. The
ride appeals to a wide range of ages and abilities because if you ride it at
a leisurely pace it is not physically demanding. "However if you want
to go flat out it does require a good level of technical skill." The race
crosses 10 farms, several rivers and is mostly down hill with an altitude
decrease of 200 metres. The support from the local community and run holders
has been fantastic. "The event is a great fundraiser with a share of the
proceeds from the event going to the Albury Home and School Association and
Burkes Pass Heritage Trust". Entry forms are available at bike shops in
Timaru. However late entries will be accepted on the day at the start.
Registration opens at Burkes Pass from 8.30am to 10am, with the race
starting at Rollesby Valley Road at 10.30am. The prize giving will be held
after the last rider has finished around 3.00pm. A bus was available to take
one rider per car from the finish back to Burkes Pass to collect their
vehicle. The Pass to Pub is one of the oldest mountain bike events in the
region and was first run in 1986. The Albury Home and School Assn will have
a BBQ operating, as their fundraiser, and the Hospitality at the Albury
Tavern is the best.

Queen's Chain plan to be axed The Press | Saturday, 24 Feb. 2007

Plans for a "Queen's Chain" across New
Zealand's back country are set to be dumped by the Cabinet in a major
Government concession to farmers. The Press understands a consultation panel
headed by South Canterbury farmer John Acland has recommended Rural Affairs
Minister Damien O'Connor ditch plans to force open large tracts of the
countryside to public access through legislation. Instead, the panel has
recommended the Government reaffirm the private land rights of farmers and
set up a travelling agency with the power to hear district access issues and
negotiate solutions with farmers and the public. In return, farmers are
understood to have agreed to allow walkers the right to use the large number
of paper roads that criss-cross the country. Where these are unsuitable, the
agency could hold talks on a land swap in return for the deletion of the
paper road. Better signposting of rights-of-way and areas where the public
can walk or drive are recommended. The panel's findings follow a year of
public hearings and two years of controversy over plans by the Government to
create a 5m-wide strip of public access, dubbed a New Zealand version of the
British Queen's Chain, across private land to access publicly owned
waterways and the coastline. The proposal was announced in late 2004
but caused protests from farmers, who threatened to blockade their land and
sue the Government for compensation for the removal of their property
rights. "It's an acknowledgement that, overall, farmers have been very
generous over the provision of access to private land. They just want the
courtesy of being asked," Carter said. The panel's findings have been hailed
as a victory by farmers. The attempt by Sutton to ram through legislation
had caused a massive rural backlash that had made access issues worse, Mason
said. Federated Farmers president Charlie Pedersen said farmers were
delighted with the panel's work. While he had not seen the recommendations,
he understood farmers would retain the right to say who could walk across
their land.

Temple Forest
photosReal ENZ Look under Canterbury,
rural. 22 Nov. 2002: Huge increase in the value of
South Canterbury rural properties over the last three years with an 89% increase in land value and a 53% in capital value.

From Fairlie the Clayton Rd will take past the
Sherwood Downs-Ashwick Flat War Memorial
and Lake Opuha. Fox Peak ski
field is located on the run 'Lilydale'
on the left just before Clayton Station. (Lilydale was named in honour of Lily
Anne Henrietta (Worthington) Bray who was born at Waitohi in 1883. Her mother, a school
teacher, taught Richard
Pearse). Continue on over the Meikleburn Saddle, 2,200ft, and Lochaber. Over
the range.
North Opuha
hut

According to Robin Startup's New Zealand Post
Offices (1977 edition) page 172
Sherwood Downs, in Timaru Postal District, a
farming area 19km north of Fairlie, Post Office 18 December 1912 to 25 April
1917 then Telephone Office 25 May 1917 to 31 May 1930.

Additions, corrections, comments
welcome!

A visit to your friends and relatives in Timaru
combined with some local sightseeing may be just as psychologically rewarding as
a 10-day trip to Europe. Several studies showed regular holidays were good for
our health. They can help us be happier, sleep better, and stop the onset of
depression.